Fairfax, VA-a project to aid poor African children in Ghana began with one man's generosity and continued with the help of Elbo Trailways in the Netherlands.
Elbo Trailways driver, Wilco Bouwhuis, found a place in his heart for the needs of Ghana school children a couple of years ago. So in 2008, he set up a foundation and secured sponsors from among individuals and businesses to gather the needed goods. His employer, Elbo Trailways, provided vaccine for 350 children.
Once medical equipment, computers, wheelchairs, and medicine were loaded into an old, but reliable van, Bouwhuis and a friend set out on a 5,000-mile overland journey. From the Netherlands, they drove through Belgium, France, and Spain. Via boat, they arrived in Morocco, and then drove over land again through the Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso into Ghana.
It was not an easy journey. "We had quite an adventure with corrupt customs officials and police at almost every border," said Bouwhuis. Unpaved roadways were often so bad the van could travel only at the speed of a cow walking.
Once they arrived in Ghana, the team gathered children from rural areas and transported them in their van to a clinic, which supports about 32,000 people, staffed with only one medical assistant nicknamed "doc."
"We configured the van so we could take 45 children and three adults every trip," recalled Bouwhuis. "In Europe, you could take only nine people in such a vehicle."
Martyn Besselsen, Elbo Trailways President, said he was gratified to be a Ghana project sponsor. "We can't save the world," he said, "but perhaps we can give some kids a chance for a better life."
For more information contact Martyn Besselsen of Elbo Trailways at info@TrailwaysEurope.com; or visit (www.ghanaschoolproject.nl).
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